But, if this world is not merely a bad joke, life a vulgar flare amid the cool radiance of the stars, and existence an empty laugh braying across the mysteries; if these intimations of a something behind and beyond are not evil humor born of indigestion or whimsies sent by the devil to mock and madden us, if, in a word, beauty means something, yet we must not seek to interpret the meaning. --From New Concept English (Book 4 ) Lesson 29
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease, This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows merely by a number of years, we grow old by deserting our idea. --From by Samuel Erman
Whether 60 or 16 , there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station, so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope , cheer, courage and power from the infinite, so long as you are young. --From by Samuel Erman
An individual human existence should be like a river-small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. --From New Concept English ( Book 4 )
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear , self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. --From by Samuel Erman